ARTIST SUPPORT GRANT
Overview
Closed | Applications Under Review
The North Carolina Arts Council Artist Support Grant is a regional grant program to support individual artists in all phases of their career. The program funds professional and artistic development for emerging or established artists to create work, improve their business operations, or bring their work to new audiences. This grant is intended to support a broad range of talented artists in the genres of visual arts, performing arts, literary arts, music composition, choreography, and interdisciplinary arts. Grants range from $500 to $3,000
The ASG program is funded by the N.C. Arts Council to provide the opportunity for regional consortia of local arts councils to award project grants to artists in their regions. Region 17 is led by Haywood County Arts Council and support artists in Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Polk, Rutherford, and Transylvania counties.
FY24 Artist Support Grant recipient: musician Hannah Kaminer’s new studio album, “Heavy on the Vine;” Photo by Old Home Place Recording
Application Process
ELIGIBILITY & REQUIREMENTS
- Individuals and Artist Collectives — Both individual artists and small, unincorporated groups of collaborating artists are eligible to apply.
- Residency — Artists should have lived continuously in the region where they are applying for at least one year before the consortium’s application deadline (Region 17: Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Polk, Rutherford, and Transylvania). Artists should have lived continuously in region 17 for at least one year prior to the application deadline. An applicant must be at least 18 years old and either a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident alien. The consortium may require proof of residence and status. Artists who live in more than one region should apply only where they spend most of the year. All members of a collaborating team must be North Carolina residents, live in the region in which they are applying, and meet the other eligibility requirements. Résumés documenting residence for all team members should be included with the application.
- Multiple Awards — Artists who are sole proprietors of organizations that have already received funding for 2023-2024 from the N.C. Arts Council are ineligible to apply. Awardees must also wait at least two years after the award year before becoming eligible to reapply.
Conflict of Interest — Current board and staff members of the consortium partner organizations and their family members are not eligible to apply for the award. - Student Status — The Artist Support Grant is intended for adult, non-student artists. Artists enrolled full-time in undergraduate or associate degree-granting programs may not apply for the grant. Artists in certificate programs are generally eligible. Artists pursuing graduate degrees in subjects other than their art form may be eligible if they meet the other eligibility criteria. Other questions and special circumstances should be discussed with N.C. Arts Council staff.
- Project Deadline — Funds must be spent by June 30, 2025. Projects must be completed before December 31, 2025.
2024-25 TIMELINE
- July 22- Application opens
- September 3- Application deadline
- November – Awards Announced
- Late November- Funds distributed
- June 30- Final report due
ALLOWABLE EXPENSES
In project year 2024-2025, applicants may apply for up to 50 percent of the grant to support artist fees.
- Completion/Presentation of a New Work — Cost of resources necessary to complete or present a significant new work (e.g., purchasing art supplies or equipment (digital may qualify) or space rental).
- Career Promotion — Projects aimed at advertising artists’ work and/or demonstrating their skill level (e.g., websites, portfolios, audio-visual documentation, and online presentation)
- Training — Costs to attend a class or workshop (in-person or virtual) aimed either at enhancing the artist’s skill level or professional development (e.g., a master class or workshop taught by acknowledged authorities in the applicant artist’s medium)
- Travel — Costs of transportation, lodging, and food for training, professional conferences, or research as allowed or possible while adhering to social distancing guidelines
INELIGIBLE PROJECTS AND COSTS
- Scholarships for undergraduate- or graduate-level education
- Projects that support or oppose a particular candidate for public office
- Projects that are exclusive to members of a particular religious faith group
- Nonprofit initiatives
- Projects that do not have a direct effect on the applicant’s growth as an artist (e.g., the promotion of other artists’ work)
EVALUATION CRITERIA
Applications will be reviewed by a panel of arts professionals with experience in various disciplines. Panelists will score each application based on the following evaluation criteria:
- Artistic Merit – Work samples provided show artistic excellence, and there is originality, inventiveness, and/or cultural significance in the project proposed, as well as a clear commitment to a career as a practicing professional artist.
- Project Feasibility – The project proposal is clear and well-organized, showing preparation and planning. The proposal’s goals are realistic and achievable. The project budget shows forethought and consideration.
Professional Development – The project is consistent with the applicant’s career stage and will be meaningful in expanding and/or promoting the applicant’s artistic career and professional growth.
The following 5 point scale will be used to score each criteria: 5 – Outstanding, 4 – Very Good, 3 – Good, 2 – Fair, 1 – Poor
Please be sure you are both thorough and clear in your responses. Incomplete or unclear responses will make it more difficult for panelists to evaluate your proposal and will negatively impact your score.
APPLICATION & SUPPORT RESOURCES
Application Link
Apply Now (Question PDF). Application deadline was September 3 at 11:59 pm.
Support Resources
If you need help with your application or have specific questions, Contact the Haywood County Arts Council by emailing director@haywoodarts.org. The HCAC Gallery is Volunteer-run, PLEASE DO NOT call. Questions will be addressed via email.
Writer Ashley Capps will use her award to allow a month of uninterrupted time to work on her second book of poems, a deathwork book, and to take a death doula training that will crucially inform it.
Rocky Collin (Raquel Willand) will produce a portion of her debut album, “Shameover,” a 9-track concept album exploring self-esteem and relationships. Grant funds would cover the cost of production for creating the instrumentation, recording vocals, mixing, and mastering three songs.
Glass artist Michael Hatch will build a small electric glass kiln/furnace. Specifically the funds will be used to buy materials and pay a metal fabricator to make the frame and outer shell of the furnace, decreasing the environmental impact of his studio.
Haley Jelinek will purchase a full set of electroplated diamond grinding discs for a Flat Lapidary Grinder to accompany a piece of essential equipment that she currently owns; allowing her to complete all glass projects in her own studio.
Catherine Kaleel will apply her grant to painting materials, including paint, polytab, primer, gel, and varnish. Using the Polytab method allows her to create murals in her studio, shielded from weather and location constraints.
Jazz vocalist Meschiya Lake will produce her genre shifting debut solo album in collaboration with all local artists.
Interdisciplinary artist Constance Lombardo will use her award to produce a comic-style zine about her experience as a woman over 50 navigating the world of online dating. As an author/illustrator typically publishing children’s books, Lombardo said, “It’s exciting to branch out into a new genre. I love how zines occupy a kind of outsider status in the publishing world. They’re raw and fresh, and I hope to contribute meaningfully with Please Be Small: Adventures in Online Dating. And I’m very grateful for the Artist Support Grant for helping me do so!”
Jasmin Pittman (Morrell) will build a website that compiles her work as writer, curator, and mentor, and serves as a platform for her workshops. She shared, “I’m grateful and honored to be awarded an artist support grant to build a website that will serve as my online home. My writing work centers themes of identity, race, spirituality, and belonging in the U.S. American South and yet, I don’t have my own digital, welcoming ‘front porch,’ so to speak. Having my own website will be a wonderful next step in my career!”
Bilingual storyteller Carolina Quiroga will participate in the “Creative Facilitator Training,” an interactive certification program offered at Story Parlor. It is designed to empower individuals to create and facilitate unique experiences rooted in the intersection of the creative process, personal stories, and the human condition.
Juan Diego Reyes will produce a Living Archive, blending photography and participatory media, in collaboration with the Kame?ntsa?-Inga people of the Colombian Amazon. The grant funds will be allocated for travel expenses, including airfare to Colombia, local transportation within the country to project sites, as well as lodging and food during the project production phase.
Writer Alysia Sawchyn will complete research and travel for her forthcoming book, I Have This Thing for Flowers. Her book was recently acquired by Flatiron Press for publication in 2026.
Musician Joel Sullivan (aka Secret Agent 23 Skidoo) will record and release an album of funk and hip-hop for kids based on therapeutic concepts that help them heal from trauma and gain confidence. Grant funds will help fund project finishing, including vocal recording, mixing, and mastering.
Jude Stuecker, an artist specializing in surface design, will purchase a table-top LED exposure light box for making silk screens that are 20×24 inches. This will enable her to make professional-quality silk screens that are more reliable and larger than her current process allows.
Young adult novelist A. A. Vacharat will develop a cohesive and sustainable artist brand that effectively bridges her current art-focused identity with the serious, literary tone of her upcoming novel releasing in summer 2025. This brand project will help connect with the right audiences, drive pre-order sales, find avenues for thought leadership, and position her for future opportunities as a writer and artist.
Performing artist Jeremy Alexander McDonald Villarreal will develop his autobiographical piece, “Ethnically Ambiguous”, into a full one man show to be workshopped further and then produced for its own theatrical run in 2025. “I am incredibly grateful for the award,” shared Villarreal. “The grant will be the main funding towards turning the 45-minute, one-man show I wrote last year, into a full length production this year, and possibly tour in the future. This award provides me the opportunity to continue writing and developing my story.”
Musician Virtuous will create a music video project for one of her newest singles to help promote my album, allowing her to grow her audience. Funding will be put toward the shoot itself, including the videographer team, and promotion.
Weaver Emelie Weber Wade will purchase a sectional warp beam and related accessories to increase productivity, reduce physical labor, and reduce cost of final products. With this upgrade, she will be able to expand her creative output, making her work more sustainable and profitable over time.